core

programming

Web

Basic Object-Oriented Programming in Java

1

2001-2002 Marty Hall, Larry Brown http://www.corewebprogramming.com

Object-Oriented Nomenclature
Class means a category of things
A class name can be used in Java as the type of a field or local variable or as the return type of a function (method)

Object means a particular item that belongs to a class

Also called an instance

For example, consider the following line:

String s1 = "Hello"; Here, String is the class, s1 is an instance variable of class String, whose value is the String object "Hello"
www.corewebprogramming.com

Example 1: Instance Variables (Fields or Data Members)

class Ship1 { public double x, y, speed, direction; public String name; }
public class Test1 { public static void main(String[] args) { Ship1 s1 = new Ship1(); s1.x = 0.0; s1.y = 0.0; s1.speed = 1.0; s1.direction = 0.0; // East s1.name = "Ship1"; System.out.println(s1.name + " is initially at (" + s1.x + "," + s1.y + ")."); s1.x = s1.x + s1.speed * Math.cos(s1.direction * Math.PI / 180.0); s1.y = s1.y + s1.speed * Math.sin(s1.direction * Math.PI / 180.0); System.out.println(s1.name + " has moved to (" + s1.x + "," + s1.y + ")."); } www.corewebprogramming.com

Instance Variables: Results

Compiling and Running:
javac Test1.java java Test1

Output:
Ship1 is initially at (1,0). Ship2 has moved to (-1.41421,1.41421).

www.corewebprogramming.com

Example 1: Major Points

Java naming convention Format of class definitions Creating classes with new Accessing fields with variableName.fieldName

www.corewebprogramming.com

Java Naming Conventions

Leading uppercase letter in class name
public class MyClass { ... }

Leading lowercase letter in field, local variable, and method (function) names
myField, myVar, myMethod

www.corewebprogramming.com

First Look at Java Classes

The general form of a simple class is
modifier class Classname { modifier data-type field1; modifier data-type field2; ... modifier data-type fieldN; modifier Return-Type methodName1(parameters) { //statements } ... modifier Return-Type methodName2(parameters) { //statements }
www.corewebprogramming.com

Objects and References

Once a class is defined, you can easily declare a variable (object reference) of the class
Ship s1, s2; Point start; Color blue;

Object references are initially null

The new operator is required to explicitly create the object that is referenced
ClassName variableName = new ClassName();

The null value is a distinct type in Java and should not be considered equal to zero A primitive data type cannot be cast to an object (use wrapper classes)

www.corewebprogramming.com

Accessing Instance Variables

Use a dot between the variable name and the field name, as follows:
variableName.fieldName

For example, Java has a built-in class called Point that has x and y fields
Point p = new Point(2, 3); // Build a Point object int xSquared = p.x * p.x; // xSquared is 4 p.x = 7;

One major exception applies to the access fields through varName.fieldName rule
Methods can access fields of current object without varName This will be explained when methods (functions) are discussed

www.corewebprogramming.com

Example 2: Methods
class Ship2 { public double x=0.0, y=0.0, speed=1.0, direction=0.0; public String name = "UnnamedShip"; private double degreesToRadians(double degrees) { return(degrees * Math.PI / 180.0); } public void move() { double angle = degreesToRadians(direction); x = x + speed * Math.cos(angle); y = y + speed * Math.sin(angle); } public void printLocation() { System.out.println(name + " is at (" + x + "," + y + ")."); }
www.corewebprogramming.com

Methods (Continued)
public class Test2 { public static void main(String[] args) { Ship2 s1 = new Ship2(); s1.name = "Ship1"; Ship2 s2 = new Ship2(); s2.direction = 135.0; // Northwest s2.speed = 2.0; s2.name = "Ship2"; s1.move(); s2.move(); s1.printLocation(); s2.printLocation(); } }

Compiling and Running: Output:

javac Test2.java java Test2

Ship1 is at (1,0). Ship2 is at (-1.41421,1.41421).

www.corewebprogramming.com

Example 2: Major Points

Format of method definitions Methods that access local fields Calling methods Static methods Default values for fields public/private distinction

www.corewebprogramming.com

Defining Methods (Functions Inside Classes)

Basic method declaration:
public ReturnType methodName(type1 arg1, type2 arg2, ...) { ... return(something of ReturnType); }

Exception to this format: if you declare the return type as void

This special syntax that means this method isnt going to return a value it is just going to do some side effect like printing on the screen In such a case you do not need (in fact, are not permitted), a return statement that includes a value to be returned
www.corewebprogramming.com

Examples of Defining Methods

Here are two examples:
The first squares an integer The second returns the faster of two Ship objects, assuming that a class called Ship has been defined that has a field named speed

// Example function call: // int val = square(7); public int square(int x) { return(x*x); } // Example function call: // Ship faster = fasterShip(someShip, someOtherShip); public Ship fasterShip(Ship ship1, Ship ship2) { if (ship1.speed > ship2.speed) { return(ship1); } else { return(ship2); } } www.corewebprogramming.com

Exception to the Field Access with Dots Rule

Normally access a field via:
variableName.fieldName

but an exception is when a method of a class wants to access fields of that same class
In that case, omit the variable name and the dot For example, a move method within the Ship class might do:
public void move() { x = x + speed * Math.cos(direction); ... }

Here, x, speed, and direction are all fields within the class that the move method belongs to, so move can refer to the fields directly

As well see later, you still can use the variableName.fieldName approach, and Java invents a variable called this that can be used for that purpose www.corewebprogramming.com

Static Methods
Static functions are like global functions in other languages You can call a static method through the class name
ClassName.functionName(arguments);

For example, the Math class has a static method called cos that expects a double precision number as an argument

So you can call Math.cos(3.5) without ever having any object (instance) of the Math class

www.corewebprogramming.com

Method Visibility
public/private distinction
A declaration of private means that outside methods cant call it -- only methods within the same class can

Thus, for example, the main method of the Test2 class could not have done
double x = s1.degreesToRadians(2.2);

Attempting to do so would have resulted in an error at compile time

Only say public for methods that you want to guarantee your class will make available to users You are free to change or eliminate private methods without telling users of your class about

www.corewebprogramming.com

Example 3: Constructors
class Ship3 { public double x, y, speed, direction; public String name; public Ship3(double x, double y, double speed, double direction, String name) { this.x = x; // "this" differentiates instance vars this.y = y; // from local vars. this.speed = speed; this.direction = direction; this.name = name; } private double degreesToRadians(double degrees) { return(degrees * Math.PI / 180.0); } ...
www.corewebprogramming.com

Constructors (Continued)
public void move() { double angle = degreesToRadians(direction); x = x + speed * Math.cos(angle); y = y + speed * Math.sin(angle); } public void printLocation() { System.out.println(name + " is at (" + x + "," + y + ")."); }

public class Test3 { public static void main(String[] args) { Ship3 s1 = new Ship3(0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, "Ship1"); Ship3 s2 = new Ship3(0.0, 0.0, 2.0, 135.0, "Ship2"); s1.move(); s2.move(); s1.printLocation(); s2.printLocation(); } }

www.corewebprogramming.com

Constructor Example: Results

Compiling and Running:
javac Test3.java java Test3

Output:
Ship1 is at (1,0). Ship2 is at (-1.41421,1.41421).

www.corewebprogramming.com

Example 3: Major Points

Format of constructor definitions The this reference Destructors (not!)

www.corewebprogramming.com

Constructors
Constructors are special functions called when a class is created with new
Constructors are especially useful for supplying values of fields Constructors are declared through:
public ClassName(args) { ... }

Notice that the constructor name must exactly match the class name Constructors have no return type (not even void), unlike a regular method Java automatically provides a zero-argument constructor if and only if the class doesnt define its own constructor
Thats why you could say in the first example, even though a constructor was never defined
www.corewebprogramming.com

Ship1 s1 = new Ship1();

The this Variable

The this object reference can be used inside any non-static method to refer to the current object The common uses of the this reference are:

1. To pass a reference to the current object as a parameter to other methods

someMethod(this);

2. To resolve name conflicts

Using this permits the use of instance variables in methods that have local variables with the same name

Note that it is only necessary to say this.fieldName when you have a local variable and a class field with the same name; otherwise just use fieldName with no this
www.corewebprogramming.com

Destructors

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

www.corewebprogramming.com

Summary
Class names should start with uppercase; method names with lowercase Methods must define a return type or void if no result is returned If a method accepts no arguments, the arg-list in the method declaration is empty instead of void as in C Static methods do not require an instance of the class; static methods can be accessed through the class name The this reference in a class refers to the current object Class constructors do not declare a return type Java performs its own memory management and requires no destructors
www.corewebprogramming.com